Behind a huge red rock present between a hollow pit, three figures could be seen hiding.
A few meters behind the three figures was an old leafless tree within a small empty area. All three of them were panting heavily, their clothes drenched with sweat.
Suddenly one of the figures popped out his head from behind the rock and looked outside the hole.
The figure had deep blue hair and beautiful black eyes. It was Alec.
As he looked at the situation outside, Alec couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Hundreds of Fire skeletons were roaming around the Volcano, they seemed to be finding something or someone.
Alec wasn't able to count the exact number but seeing the roaming skeletons just a few meters away from the hollow pit, he was sure there were at least 500+ Fire skeletons.
He could also see that with every second their number was increasing because for some reason more fire skeletons seemed to be gushing out from the Volcano top.
With a deep breath, Alec retracted his head and looked at the other two figures crouching beside him before whispering in a low voice.
"Kyle, Jian. I think we are surrounded."
With a deep breath, Jian also popped out his head from behind the large rock and looked at the hundreds of fire skeletons.
Eighty-five percent of the skeletons had red fire cores in the middle of their chest means they were all equivalent to (-D)-Rank. Jian could also see some blue-core skeletons that were equivalent to (+D)-Rank.
"Thank god there wasn't any purple core fire skeleton following behind us."
He wiped his sweaty forehead. His deep red eyes showed a hint of relief.
A purple core skeleton was equivalent to (C)-Rank!
They easily avoided all the (-D)-Rank and (+D)-Rank monsters chasing after them as the skeletons were slower and weaker compared to actual monsters. Jian was not weak himself as he broke through to (-D)-Rank two days ago.
On the other hand, sensing Alec's powerful aura he was sure Alec was almost on the verge of breaking through to (+D)-Rank.
Suddenly Jian looked at Kyle. He wasn't able to sense Kyle's rank but seeing him running with speed even higher than Alec's, he was sure Kyle was also at least (-D)-Rank.
If not for this hollow pit they discovered while climbing the Volcano, they would have probably perished under the ruthless pursuit of hundreds of fire skeletons.
All three of them looked at each other, their mind racing as to what to do next.
While they were crouching behind the rocks, pondering about their next actions. A creepy red core skeleton with hollow eyes appeared at the edge of the pit, the skeleton's empty eyes shone with a dim flicker of light as it looked at the pit.
With a loud whistling sound the skeleton immediately rushed inside the pit, shocking the three individuals who were crouching behind the large rock.
"What the hell!"
Jian freaked out as he looked at the fire skeleton who was running toward the crouching trio. With a hurried movement, he jumped backward.
Within a second, Alec unleashed the sword hanging on his waist and his figure flashed as he attacked the skeleton. With a fast slash, he severed the skeleton's left shoulder.
He wanted to break the core within the skeleton's chest because it would directly kill the skeleton but he knew from his experience that the skeleton ribcage surrounding the core was harder than the other body part.
The skeleton whose whole shoulder was severed by a single slash didn't stop at all. Its emotionless gaze was still fixed on the trio.
The skeleton opened its mouth wide and threw out lava on Alec who sidestepped and easily dodged the incoming lava attack.
Kyle who was standing a few centimeters away from Alec threw two 'Thunder arrows' at the skeleton chest, aiming for its core.
The skeleton ribcage cracked a little, taking advantage of the momentum Alec slashed at the skeleton ribcage. He wanted to take out this skeleton without causing any commotion. With a small sound, the skeleton ribcage cracked completely and fell to the ground.
At the same time, Jian hurriedly formed and threw a fireball at the skeleton's red core which was now bare and the rest of the skeleton's body slumped on the ground.
Both Alec and Kyle looked back at Jian with dark eyes. They did all the work and he stole the kill?
With an innocent expression, Jian hurriedly looked away. Internally he was laughing because his kill count increased from 198 to 199.
While Kyle and Alec were staring at Jian. A loud rumble shook the ground.
All of them abruptly looked in front and their eyes almost popped out.
More than 20 skeletons were looking at the trio who were standing in the middle of the hollow pit.
Without even waiting for a second, the skeletons immediately charged inside the pit.
"Shit!"
Jian cursed. Now they were surrounded from all sides!
Alec and Kyle were also sweating buckets of water.
Due to the commotion, all the nearby skeletons also charged toward the pit.
Within a minute, the entrance of the pit was flooded with fire skeletons who were staring daggers at the trio.
"Hu.."
Kyle took a deep breath and looked at Alec who was standing beside him.
"Do your best to stay alive!"
Alec looked back at Kyle seriously before both of them charged at the incoming skeletons with their swords.
Jian was standing behind the duo because he was a mage. He grabbed the (+SS)-Rank wand he got from the sixth floor and started throwing different spells on the skeletons.
The wand was blue, there was also a green gemstone embedded in the middle of the wand. The wand lowered the amount of mana he needed to use for a single spell.
Unlike Kyle and Alec who had to solely rely on their skills to manipulate mana present within their bodies into desired natural elements, Jian could form fireballs, earth spikes, or any other small elemental attack without skills.
He just needs to memorize the desired spell and cast it correctly.
With a direct stab, Alec took out another Fire skeleton but the incoming skeletons were never ending.
The entrance of the pit was crowded with fire skeletons who were looking at the trio with empty eyes.
With a deep breath, Kyle looked at the pit entrance. He was sure because of the commotion, all the skeletons would be soon arriving at the pit!
While his gaze was fixated on the skeletons, suddenly he took a step back with a serious expression.
Alec felt his back hair stand up as he sensed the aura around Kyle's sword.
He subconsciously knew Kyle was preparing for a big attack that's why without wasting even a second Alec jumped at the front and stopped all the skeletons advancing toward Kyle.
On the other hand, Kyle's grip on his sword tightened and a whitish-grey hue enveloped his sword completely.
Under Kyle's gaze, a small vortex formed on the tip of his sword but compared to the first time he used this move the vortex was bigger and more darker.
All this happened within a few seconds.
